Elite In-State RB Hayden Talks Tennessee, Top Schools, and More

Dallan Hayden is one of the top running back prospects in the country, and he has stat line and hardware to prove it. The Mr. Football winner rushed for over 2,000 last fall, and he has multiple suitors from across the country after him. He has added another school to his list, and he broke it all down with Sports Illustrated’s Director of Recruiting, John Garcia Jr.

Hayden released a top four on January 1st, but he has since added Illinois, following Bret Bielema being named as the head coach.

“My brother's old coach, Bret Bielema, took the job after I released my top four. Once he got settled in, he offered me a scholarship and told me he's going to be recruiting me really hard. My family and I have a really good relationship with Coach Bielema because he recruited my older brother back at Arkansas. Now he's back and that's why Illinois is in there. My brother loves Coach Bielema, he has nothing but great things to say about him. He's a player's coach, a great man off the field and he cares about each and every one of his players."Hayden told Garcia Jr.

The other four schools for Hayden, Ohio State, Oregon, Notre Dame and Tennessee, remains the same.

Below is a look at what Hayden told Garcia Jr. on each.

Ohio State: "Football history, draft picks they've had, the championships -- all of that speaks for itself. Ohio State is a premiere program and I'm developing some great relationships with the running back coach (Tony Alford) the head coach (Ryan Day) and they're making me feel like a priority. I saw no shame in putting the Buckeyes in my top five. I'll definitely be visiting Ohio State, no question."

Notre Dame: "Football history, the great players they've had. All-Americans. They win and they're making me feel like a priority. I talk to their offensive coordinator (Tommy Rees) and running backs coach (Lance Taylor) through texts and getting on the phone almost every day. They're recruiting me hard. Ever since they offered, the communication hasn't stopped."

Oregon: "They started recruiting me, and when they offered, I haven't stopped hearing from Coach Rod Chance, Coach (Jim) Mastro. Then I recently did a Zoom with Coach (Mario) Cristobal, Coach Mastro and Coach Chance and they were just telling me they really want me. They always dominate the Pac-12, always the best team out West, so they're in there."

Tennessee: "I'm an in-state kid, both of my parents are UT grads and my dad played there. I've been watching UT play almost my whole life so no shame in putting them in there. Even with the new staff in place, they're still recruiting me and seem like pretty good guys. Pretty straight-forward guys. Coach (Josh) Heupel always has a great offense, so I think he's going to do great things. Curious to see how they do."

A decision could be coming in the near future for the coveted prospect from Christian Brothers.

Just sometimes towards the spring," Hayden told SI All-American of his decision timetable. "Hopefully things open back up, I take a couple of officials and then make a decision."

It’s going to come down to an academic and athletic fit for Hayden.

"Location doesn't matter, it's about great academic schools and opportunities that are going to hopefully help me get to the next level if I'm lucky enough. Whether it's academically or athletically, that's really the major factor. The weather or none of that really doesn't factor in. I feel like I can fit in anybody's offense and give them my all.”